


Graft

by tinyfloatingwhale (thescienceofbeekeeping)



Series: Our Cousins, the Stars [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Backstory, Gem Fusion, Gem War, Gen, Homeworld - Freeform, Kindergarten, Military Backstory, Origin Story, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 06:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4337621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescienceofbeekeeping/pseuds/tinyfloatingwhale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><br/><br/>There's a very good reason Jasper despises fusions.</p><p>-------------------------</p><p>Conceptualized, established, and largely written pre-"Full Disclosure." Canon-compliant as of "Chille Tid."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this has certainly been an undertaking. I feel like, as much as Jasper is a fan favorite, people don't seem to explore her characterization much past what we're given to go on in the show. I wanted to change that. So here's a story about Jasper, as an excuse to do a massive amount of world-building! 
> 
> My conceptualization of Homeworld aligns with a lot of what others have surmised, in that its political system is an oligarchy with a military industrial complex set on colonizing other planets. It seems that the show creators have used the [Mohs scale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohs_scale_of_mineral_hardness) as a means of establishing Gem hierarchy, so I've loosely followed suit. I've vaguely designed the military aspects of this story around Western modern navies and air forces, but admittedly am not previously educated on military lifestyles and systems.

Every nerve, every atom was _pain_.

Blinding white light from above. Lurid blue light from below.  The electrical buzz of the circuits surrounding her echoed against her skin, prickling and hot like the press of a razor. The bloom of brightness pressing against her shut eyelids was enough to set her ears ringing.

Blood on fire. Limbs too heavy. Thoughts sideways. Everything was at the wrong angle and too close…

Wounds, and grief, and self-inflicted hatred were nothing compared to this.

Spasms wracked her then, and she gritted her teeth so hard she thought she heard a faint crack.

With a burst of pressure came the sudden ache of a migraine, and a manic laugh overtook her as the faint taste of blood coated her tongue.

_How can this possibly be worth it?_

She groped her way over the shrapnel and managed to take a step forward without keeling over.

_I..._

Another step, this one less faltering than the last. Shouting and noise reverberated through the walls from outside. She shivered, though from anticipation or fear, she wasn’t certain.

_...am..._

The earth under her feet was thin and pale, but it was solid. As the sun fled behind a cloud, the pain in her head faded to a simmering burn. Slowly, she stood: taller than she’d ever felt before, despite the agony ratcheting her spine. She blocked it out. The figures before her stared up in terror.

Still manic, her mouth still bleeding, she grinned, and her eyes blazed. They were so small, so sad. Her shadow fell over them like a wave, and with a sweep of her arm, they were gone.

_...proving a point._

Now, to find Yellow Diamond. To let her see what she’d become.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Citrine!”

She looked up, grimacing. The rest of the platoon was far ahead, quickly blinking out of sight over the next hill. Blue Topaz towered over her, tapping her foot. Her stare was icy.

“What happened, Citrine? Why aren’t you keeping up?”

With a grunt, she pushed herself onto her knees. “I’m sorry, Commander, it won’t happen again.”

Blue Topaz’s mouth set into a thin line. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

Dusting herself off, Citrine shrugged. _Don’t look upset._ “I think I just tripped. This planet’s crust is so uneven, and the weather drastically changes its consistency; I’m still getting the hang of it.”

A hand clapped onto her shoulder, and Citrine followed the line of the finger pointed toward the crest of the hill with watering eyes. “It’s not holding anyone else back.”

“I--”

“Adapt. I won’t say it again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Citrine rolled her fingers over her temples as the stutter of Blue Topaz’s heavy footsteps reverberated through the earth.

_Adapt._

It had been said before, many times. By Blue Topaz. By the others in her platoon. By herself, over and over in her head, as if turning it into a mantra would help it sink in faster. Force her to bend to gravity and high pressure zones and precipitation...

She took in the brown clods of grass, the insects in the air, the clouds above her in the atmosphere.

She hated this planet. It was too small and too violent and too young. Its oceans, its temperate and tropical fluctuations, even its warm, burning core… it was too foreign. Too new. Even after all the time they’d spent here, learning its geography and its annual systems, it was still so strange.

_Adapt. As if it’s that simple._

She could feel the thundering of the next platoon coming from behind her.

_Move, you idiot. You’re going to get trampled._

If she were to just let it happen, no one would get in trouble. It’s not like they’d be able to pick out one responsible Gem from a group of so many. And she was small as it was; she could just curl up under a clod of dirt or a tree root somewhere and wait . . .

“Hey.” A small, gruff voice called. Citrine whipped her head around. A few steps behind her stood a squat Gem with stocky features. “You okay?” She held out a hand.

Citrine took it. “I’m… I’m fine. Thanks, uh…”

The faceted carmine bar under the Gem’s right eye flashed like fire in the sunlight, and her smile was nearly as radiant. “Pyrope.”

That name seemed familiar; Citrine thought. She pulled herself up, giving the hand she was holding a single firm shake.

“I’m Citrine.”

“Nice to meet you. Now come on, get running so I can fall in behind you.”

Citrine could just make out the oncoming platoon on the horizon. “Huh? I mean, aren’t you supposed to be with them?”

The smile became a cocky grin. “I am. But I’m fast.”

-

“I don’t see why we have to run,” Citrine panted out as they plodded along, side by side, after she’d mostly caught her breath. Pyrope had tucked her under her arm and Citrine could have sworn they’d _flown._ The grass and trees and wildflowers were almost charming, when they were whirled together into a kaleidoscope. “It’s not like we couldn't just survey from orbit.”

Pyrope chuckled, kicking at a weed. “Yellow Diamond told me that it’s because, if we’re better intimately acquainted with the planet - in the physical sense - it will encourage the growth of the Kindergartens. I’m not sure quite how it all works, though.”

Citrine stopped in her tracks and grabbed for Pyrope’s shoulder.

“You… you’ve met Yellow Diamond?”

Pyrope gingerly shrugged her off. “Yellow Diamond is my Commander.”

A flash of realization rolled over Citrine’s face, and she took in the Gem in front of her with a mixture of awe and fear. “That means…”

Pyrope laced her fingers behind her head and gave a self-sure grin. “I’m in the First Battalion.”

So that was where Citrine had heard of Pyrope before. The First Battalion were legendary; it was said that where they walked, Gems burst forth from the earth to follow after them. The mental image reminded Citrine of plants, forcing their way out of the ground. Reaching for life.

“The First Battalion is allowed to work with humans, right? What’s it like?”

“Humans? Uh… it’s interesting. They’re interesting, for sure.”

They walked in silence for a while.

“I met Black Diamond once,” Pyrope said quietly. They were nearing the rendezvous site now, the ships and the encampment glimmering faintly through a thick stand of forest.

Citrine gasped and sputtered, and Pyrope laughed loud and clear. “Why is that so impressive to you, anyways? They’re just Diamonds.”

“ _Just_ Diamonds?!They’re _DIAMONDS._ ”

“Yeah, and?”

Citrine frowned. “And what?”

“What do they do? Well, except for Yellow Diamond. But Blue Diamond, Black Diamond, White Diamond… they just sit around on Homeworld, telling us what to do.”

“Well… what would we be doing on Homeworld if we weren’t here?”

“What do the Diamonds do on Homeworld? We could enjoy ourselves; not have to worry about watching over defenseless organisms… I don’t know. I like it, but I’ve never really seen why we do this.”

Citrine stared up at the trees as they stepped into the forest, canopies broad and rustling with life. “I hate this planet. But the Kindergartens are important. They mean we’ll be able to move on. Go somewhere more interesting.”

Pyrope crouched down suddenly, so Citrine followed suit. The Gem was peering at an earthworm, where it had forced its way up out of the muck and was wriggling into full view.

“I guess you’re right.”

When they finally caught up to Citrine’s platoon, everyone was waiting with a dour expression, and Blue Topaz looked ready to explode. Pyrope stood beside her, small, strong hand wrapped around her slender, long one, and smiled and waved.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting into the heavy stuff, now.

“This was reconnaissance, not time for you to make friends.” The timbre of Blue Topaz’s growl set Citrine’s teeth on edge. The bright glow underlighting the Commander’s face from the console in front of her did nothing to calm Citrine’s nerves, either.

“She was making sure I was all right. Please, it’s not her fault—”

“I know that. I’m blaming you.”

Citrine swallowed thickly. Blue Topaz sighed and leaned forward over her console, glancing up at her with doleful eyes.

“Your lack of ability could have compromised our position. Lollygagging as you did could have alerted our presence to the human population. We’ve established Kindergartens on every continent except this one. The Diamonds have assured us that once we complete our work on the Kindergartens on this continent, we will be able to return home.” Blue Topaz came around from behind the console and placed a hand on Citrine’s cheek. “We’re so close. Another 500 of this planet’s years, and our work here will be done. But we _cannot_ risk unnecessary interaction with the sentient species here. It would mean disaster, and would keep us all from going home. Wouldn’t you like to see Homeworld, Citrine?”

She bit her lip, and nodded slowly, uncertain if there was a correct answer. Blue Topaz’s hand moved to the top of her head, before sliding away.

“I have tried to be patient. But, unfortunately, you are now the only factor compromising this platoon’s success.” There was no lack of gentleness in her voice. She turned to Pyrope, standing at attention in the corner of the room.

“You. Pyrope, was it? Citrine will be transferred to the First as of tomorrow. She needs to learn how her choices affect others, and ultimately, our entire operation. Perhaps she will also acquire a greater appreciation for discipline, and effort.”

“Yes, sir.” Their voices echoed against the walls; one terse and faint, the other cracking and too loud.

“This is an order that comes from Black Diamond herself. Citrine - Don’t disappoint me. Stay close by Pyrope; from what I’ve heard from her superiors, she is a highly capable and skilled Gem. I hope you learn something, for your own sake, at least.”

Citrine gave a curt nod, hoping against hope that Blue Topaz couldn’t see her trembling.

-

Even the barracks were different. Where Citrine’s old barracks had been decorated with lights and structures resembling those of Homeworld, here there were nothing but stools, tables, a few scattered consoles, and the packed earth of the floor where the grass had worn away from the constant tramping of heavy boots.

“Where is everyone?” Citrine asked as she peered into the dark corners of the barracks. Pyrope dragged a stool to her and draped herself over it.

“Night reconnaissance.”

“Are - are we supposed to be out there right now?” Panic tinted her voice. “Are we going to be in trouble?”

Pyrope frowned, and a tenderness flickered behind her eyes as she reached a hand out for Citrine’s shoulder. “I really think Blue Topaz would have mentioned it if that were the -- oh, hey! See? They’re back already.”

With a shudder of noise and movement, the barracks were suddenly filled with a double file of Gems. Their posture was rigid, their gazes fixed forward, and it wasn’t long before there was barely standing room left to them. Pyrope steered Citrine by the shoulder to a corner out of the way, prodding her to stand at attention with a gentle poke in the ribs.

A rich, deep voice resonated from the back of the file.

“Soldiers … this has not been a good month.”

“Yes, sir.” The words left 100 mouths as one.

“Nearly 50 of this planet’s years, and we’ve turned up nearly nothing.”

“Yes, sir.” The figures rippled as someone moved between them.

“If we go another year without success…”

Tense silence, as Yellow Diamond broke the head of the file. She towered over every other Gem in the room, frame broad and features stern. Her pale hair was swept up in a harsh coif, and the gem between her clavicles flashed brilliantly in the swift-falling darkness pushing in from outside.

“... You will see consequences.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You’re dismissed.”

Pyrope’s hand was firm around her own as she dragged Citrine up to the Commander, the rest of the Gems mostly retreating to other wings of the barracks. Citrine felt herself tilting back to look up into Yellow Diamond’s face. She wasn’t severe, just serious; but it was enough for Citrine to have to remind herself to breathe.

“Commander, this is our new transfer, sir.” Pyrope offered, her tone unusually formal and gruff.  Yellow Diamond glanced down, just long enough to register Citrine’s features, before she moved toward a console and began flicking through screens.

“Very good,” she called over her shoulder. “Pyrope, this one will stay with you so she doesn’t get lost, or worse. Tomorrow we resume operations. You’re dismissed.”

“Yes, sir!”

As they left the tent, Pyrope placed a hand between Citrine’s shoulders and rubbed reassuringly. “I think you’re going to do fine. Just stick with me. We’ll get you through this.”

_That’s not your job. I’m going to slow you down, and then you’ll hate me._

Citrine chewed her lip and gave a shaky nod, not quite able to look Pyrope in the eye.

“If you say so.”

-

It had rained the night before, through to the morning. Ferns dripped wet and heavy over their heads, running rivulets through the small stones under their feet.

“What are we doing?” Citrine whispered. Pyrope clapped a hand on her shoulder and shook her head once, face stern.

“Quiet,” she mouthed.

“But--”

Pyrope’s hand tightened, and Citrine’s breath hitched.

_I don’t know what’s going on._

_We’re not marching. I’ve never not marched before._

_Is something supposed to happen?_

“There.”

Chrysoprase, at the front, pointed out past the next thicket to a group of brown figures hauling stones to the stream.

Citrine gasped. She grinned up at Pyrope, eyes burning with excitement, but the other Gem’s expression remained set in a grim mask.

Pyrope barked in a stage whisper, clear and terse. “Go.”

Silently, the party flitted between the greenery, dashing through the clearing to the next stand of trees, circling back around until there were only a few hundred feet between them and the humans.

Axinite, a little ahead of Citrine on her left, scowled and began muttering under her breath. Pyrope, on Citrine’s right, reached out and gripped her collar. “Hey, easy. It’s going to be fine. We just need to be patient.”

Citrine’s head swiveled from the tense emotion in Axinite’s face, to Pyrope’s determined, steady expression, and back again.

“What… what’s going on?”

Pyrope crowded into her, letting go of Axinite, and Citrine thought for a second that she could feel rage emanating like an aura off of the other Gem.

“That’s one of our Kindergartens. Those humans are stealing from us.”

Citrine’s eyes widened in shock, and she regarded the boulders cradled in the human’s arms with a growing sense of terror. She focused on the face of the one closest to her - he was slender and well-muscled, with hair that fell to the small of his back and an easy smile. One of his ears was torn at the lobe. The stone he carried was rough and oblong and coated in rich, black earth.

_Do they know what they’re doing?_

Before she could react, the rest of the party had progressed ahead of her into the open. She scrambled after them, bursting out of the underbrush just as the rest of them brandished their weapons.

The humans paused, and turned, hefting the boulders tighter to their chests. The human with the torn ear said something, and Chrysoprase responded in kind. The language was foreign to Citrine; it required the lips to mash together, the tongue to swipe against the teeth.

Citrine looked toward Pyrope; her stance mirrored the humans’, but her features simmered with a glower that made Citrine’s mouth go dry. The leader gestured toward her, saying a few more words. He seemed to address her, and his expression darkened. Pyrope didn’t respond. He began to shout, eyes flashing, spittle flying from his mouth. Chrysoprase held out a hand, palm forward, a gesture that could mean just about anything - she smiled, spoke softly, but he continued over her even as his volume increased.  His voice seemed to crack, and Citrine could see that his muscles were trembling. She couldn’t tell if it was due to the stone in his arms, or the array of weapons surrounding him.

Pyrope had him on the ground before Citrine could even register that she’d moved.

There was a different kind of screaming, now - the kind that comes from pain. The other humans dropped their cargo and bolted, several Gems taking after them through the trees. They came back before long, huddling in a tight circle around the two on the ground. Pyrope stood, clutching the stone like a child, and stepped away.

Citrine inched closer. There was blood on the ground. He lay, staring and still.

“Pyrope!” she cried. Tears threatened to well over in her eyes. She couldn’t catch her breath.

_What is this?_

_Why am I … why do I feel this way?_

_I’ve never even seen a human before. I shouldn’t care…_

Pyrope stared at her, stone-faced. The nonchalance of the expression made Citrine want to shake her.

“You’ve… you’ve done this before,” she seethed, striding toward the other Gem and gripping at her wrists where they crossed over the stone in her arms. “He recognized you! That’s what he was saying! He watched you k--”

Pyrope shoved, and Citrine crashed into the dirt.

“Are you that damn naive?!” she thundered. “This is the purpose of the First Battalion! We protect the Kindergartens! We ensure the continuation of future generations!”

“By murdering innocent organisms?!”

“By dispatching dangerous interference!”

Pyrope snarled, tore a strand of twine from the human’s neck, and thrust it into Citrine’s shaking hands.

It was thin and tightly twisted, studded with small spheres of purple and amber.

“Are these… seeds?” she asked, turning the threaded objects with her fingers.

“They’re Tiger Eyes and Amethysts,” Pyrope moaned, and she placed her stone reverently on the ground so that she could wipe the tears from her face. “Do you see, Citrine? This is what they do. They take our brothers and sisters and they break them into tiny pieces and _wear them._ ”

The string tumbled out of her hand as if it had burned her. Citrine clapped a hand to her mouth, eyes drifting from Pyrope’s pained expression to the figure sprawled on the ground and back again.

They’d forgotten they weren’t alone. Chrysoprase offered a gentle hand at Pyrope’s elbow. She seemed to shake out of a reverie, and scooped up the boulder to carry it to the dell it had come from.

As she stepped beside her, Citrine noticed that she was trembling.

“I don’t like it - doing these things,” she whispered, her voice hitching as Citrine gulped, “I don’t like it at all. But how can I stand by when I know what they’ve done?”

“This isn’t right.” Citrine clenched her hands into fists, to keep the tremors from shaking her apart.

“I know that.”

Pyrope sobbed, once, before taking off toward the encampment in a blur. Citrine looked around with glazed eyes; the rest of the Gems stood awkwardly, unable to meet one another’s gaze.

They set off without looking back.

-

Citrine and Pyrope sat quietly together as the sun set, after a monosyllabic and tense debriefing.

“That was scary,” Citrine offered.

“It’s usually scary. You should get used to it.”

“I didn’t know that humans would do something like that. I’m sorry that I got so upset.” Citrine muttered into her crossed arms, her knees tucked up to her chest. Pyrope nodded.

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

Citrine turned to look at her; her face was pale, her hair disheveled. “Pyrope…”

Pyrope gave a wan smile, the setting light brilliant on her face.

“That wasn’t you. It didn’t … seem like you.” Citrine whispered.

Pyrope twisted her fingers into a clutch in her lap. “But it was. And that’s the worst part.”

“I don’t want to kill things.”

“You might have to.”

“But wouldn’t that make me…? Wouldn’t I be…?”

Pyrope sighed. “We keep secrets. We do dirty work. It’s our job. That’s what it means to be part of the First Battalion. It takes getting used to, but once you make it… you’ll be unstoppable.”

Citrine pressed her forehead into her arms. _Why did Blue Topaz ever think this was a good idea?_

“. . . Are you going to be ok?”

“Hmm? I’m fine, Citrine. I’m more worried about you. You were pretty shook up by all of that. Not a good first day.”

“No. Not a good day. But an important one.”

Pyrope smiled and seemed to relax. “Yeah. Now you’ve got the hard part out of the way.”

Citrine slung an arm over her shoulder, and they spent the night counting the stars back to Homeworld.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any out of character-ness will be cleared up shortly, I promise.


End file.
